a. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to streaming media, such as video streams transferred across the Internet, and more particularly, to a method and system that produces enhanced content that may be employed with streaming media.
b. Description of the Background
Streaming media files, such as video and sound files, may be hosted at a web server, and then may be transmitted over the Internet or other network to a requesting user. A streaming media player, such as Microsoft Windows(copyright) Media Player, may be employed to play a media file within a user""s browser. While the images that may comprise streaming media content may be similar in appearance to television, enhancement of streaming media exhibits a number of differences. Enhancement refers to the display of elements such as text, graphics and images in conjunction with a video presentation. Display elements such as text, graphics, and images, for example, may be in proximity to a video image, or may overlay a video image. Display elements may also have links associated with them such that selection of the element, such as a displayed icon, or selection of the video area, may provide access to a web page, other information, or may launch another application. A prominent difference between television enhancement and enhancement of streaming media is that there are few tools and standards for streaming media enhancement, if any. In a manner similar to television, streaming media enhancements provide an opportunity for increased viewer satisfaction and also provide an opportunity for increased revenue through advertising, vendor association with a displayed product, and modification of advertising, such as local dealer information being displayed in conjunction with an advertisement. As such, a new method that provides a method and tools for streaming media enhancement is needed.
The present invention overcomes the disadvantages and limitations of the prior art by providing a system and method for creating enhanced content for streaming media and for outputting an enhancement file suited to streaming media. The authoring tools of the present invention provides an easy to use visual interface that allows a user to open a streaming video file, position the video to a desired frame, and add text and graphic enhancements.
Commands employed to place the graphics and text enhancements are termed triggers. Each trigger uniquely specifies a text or graphic element, a location, and a time. A trigger may also contain an address where a graphic may be accessed. A text trigger may indicate font, font size, color and other attributes, plus location of where the text is displayed. Triggers may be grouped into a text file, using a scripting language such as XML for example, and then may be embedded into a streaming media file. The resultant enhanced streaming media file may be saved on a web server. In addition to the enhanced streaming media file, an HTML/JavaScript xe2x80x9cwrapperxe2x80x9d page is generated. The HTML/Javascript page embeds a streaming media player object as well as the software code necessary to interpret the embedded triggers.
The invention therefore may comprise a method for creating an enhanced streaming media file comprising: defining a first window in a graphical user interface; displaying a streaming video file in a media player window contained in the first window; pausing the media player at one frame of a plurality of frames comprising the streaming video file; placing a displayable element at a position in the first window employing a pointing device and employing a drag and drop function responsive to an input from the pointing device, the drag and drop function implemented locally in the graphical user interface; creating an enhancement file containing information related to the displayable element, and the one frame; modifying a file containing a video stream to produce a modified video stream file containing a trigger comprising information that identifies a video frame to be enhanced and a locator indicating where enhancement information may be accessed; and embedding a media player and a software routine in a web displayable page wherein the media player is operable to display a video stream, and the software routine is operable to detect a trigger in the video stream, to access enhancement information employing a locator in the video stream, and to render enhancements defined by the enhancement information.
A user may access a web server with a browser and download the enhanced streaming media file and the HTML/JavaScript page. As the enhanced streaming media file plays, the wrapper HTML/JavaScript code interprets triggers contained in the enhanced streaming media file and renders the graphics or text elements. The invention may be implemented in a web browser, allowing remote editing and preview of enhancements.
The invention may further comprise a system for creating an enhanced streaming media file comprising: a computer; a web browser; a graphical user interface disposed in the browser; a streaming media player disposed in the graphical user interface; a first software program associated with the graphical user interface that allows a user to select a displayable element and to position the displayable element over an image displayed by the streaming media player, the first software program further provides a function to alter the position of the displayable element in response to input from a pointing device, the function implemented locally in the graphical user interface; a second program that embeds information associated with the displayable element into a streaming media file; and a third program that produces a web displayable page that embeds a media player operable to display a video stream and a software routine that detects a trigger contained in the video stream and that accesses enhancement information and renders an enhancement in response to the trigger.
Advantageously, the present invention allows easy enhancement of streaming video, providing lower cost for creating enhancements and providing new opportunities for increased viewer enjoyment, and for increased revenue generation through advertising links, advertising customization, and interactive promotions.